Digital Currencies, Like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Reach a New All-time High of $92 Billion

The combined market cap of all digital currencies has reached a new all time high of $92.5 billion, higher than the market cap of many multinationals, banks, or even the GDP of some small countries, as the boom seemingly continues.

Ethereum is leading, rising nearly 12% today, reaching a market cap close to $23 billion, draging bitcoin up somewhat, or keepin it from falling down, as the ETH/BTC pair remains the most traded of any currency in this space, whether digital or otherwise.

That means the sharp price fall last week might turn out to be a sharp V correction as a new all-time high (ATH) is made in the combined market cap of all digital currencies, while Ethereum specifically is now $20 above its previous ATH.

Bitcoin has not yet returned to an all-time high, trading some $300 below it, and it remains unclear whether it will be able to do so or whether other currencies will just keep it from falling down.

Because bitcoin has many self-inflicted problems. Its fees have reached around $5 for a simple transaction, while some are asked to pay $20 or even $80 for just one bitcoin transaction.

It recently reached a stage where the backlog never clears as for the last month there were always bitcoins waiting to move, a very first since its invention nearly a decade ago.

That has led to a boom in bitcoin alternatives which have now taken some 55% of the market share, when it was previously merely 5%. While bitcoin’s share has plunged from 95% to 44%.

Most of the attention has gone to eth, a very innovative digital currency and protocol platform because of its Turing completeness and because of its smart contracts on top of endorsement by almost all household brands.

The currency has now reached a new level as Vitalik Buterin held a brief discussion with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, where Buterin reportedly suggested how blockchain tech can be used in Russia while Putin seemingly expressed support.

The rest of the currencies aren’t really that interesting because there hasn’t been much movement, but there is one which may trigger ethereans, ETC, or, as some call it, the troll currency.

What is very interesting is that ETC has now reached a price and market cap somewhat higher than ethereum’s last year, before the Slockit DAO hack.

That is a very powerful fact for whoever likes to engage in objective analysis, for it strongly suggests that where there is any controversial decision to be made, the best option might actually be a chain split, with the two alternatives not necessarily even competing for they might find their own markets.

Although, it is true we can’t quite extrapolate from just one case, no one can really doubt ethereum’s approach to governance is far better than bitcoin’s, because even the tiny minority chain, ETC, which has no developers or projects, is now worth some $1.6 billion.